They've also been killed by a New York cop in hand to hand combat.
Yes, but that was a new-blood who had been shot to hell by a shotgun, and killed by a human using a predator weapon.
They are consistently defeated by humans whenever they fight them (making their lifting capacity no where close to ten tons, that's a load of BS).
Consistently? Really? No, what about all of those Rambos in the first movie? Only one made it out, and he was a plot-protected main hero. Also, how is ten tons BS? The Predators throw humans around like they are bag of potatoes.
Elites, on the other hand, can wipe out entire squadrons without firing a shot. They're master swordsman, with technology and weapons for the most part exceeding a Predator's, are defended by energy shielding, have a motion sensor that would tell him where the Predator is at all times, and have the strength, agility, and speed of a Spartan.
I thought Elites got beaten up by Elites all the time, regardless, a single shot from the plasma caster and the elite would be toast, the plasma caster completely destroyed a shuttle that carried about twenty people in it, this shuttle was also capable of re-entry. Also, the aforementioned 10 ton strength works for Predators. I am sure that Elites aren't that strong.
I also don't see how a xeno is stronger than a Spartan. If they are, they still suffer from playing with their food by smacking them around before just killing them. Elites are too efficient for that.
In one of the books it says that a warrior xenomorph has 20X the strength of a synthetic. Synthetics are 3x your average Olympic weight lifter. A Predator can throw Xenomorphs around quite easily also.
Most of a Pred's weapons would be useless too. Really the only two weapons I could think of that would be dangerous would be a plasma caster--which the Elite can dodge if he sees the red beam--and those green trip mines from the recent game. If the Predaor attempts a trophy kill, or any melee for that matter (which they are strongly inclined too when only facing a single opponent), the Predator's screwed. The Elite would see him on his tracker and cut him in half with his sword. If the Predator dodges, he still has to contend with the shielding and the other plasma blades/weapons he has.
Don't Spartans commonly run around the sensors of an Elite? Predators would do that with ease. As I said before, the plasma caster would blow the head off of an Elite from a mile away, and where is that Elites are bullet-timers? Also, the Predators have quite a few weapons that could cut an Elite in half also, from net guns to plasma coated blades and wrist blades that can cut right through Xenomorph Queens, there's no shortage of death in a Predator's arsenal.
Really any of the Elite's weapons could kill him in one or two shots. Most Predators don't wear full-body armor, at least not the ones I've seen. Not Hunters, anyway.
Yes, but in quite a few of the books, average hunters are wearing full body suits that absorb any energy weapons that hit them. Also, it's a good thing this isn't a war, or the Predator would be using his war suit, those have Macross Missile Spam going every where with dual plasma casters. Predators are srs biz.
[Edited on 12.13.2012 2:20 PM PST]